Overview

• US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed allies in Brussels to commit at least 5% of GDP to defense by the end-of-June Hague summit
• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte proposed splitting the 5% goal into 3.5% for military outlays and 1.5% for broader security measures by 2032
• European ministers cited fears of US disengagement and the Russian threat as reasons to boost spending despite varied national threat perceptions
• Countries such as Spain and Italy, already behind on the 2% GDP defense target, resisted immediate hikes due to lower perceived risk from Russia
• Diplomats are still negotiating which categories of civilian and dual-use expenditures count toward the 1.5% security component